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"In principle contractors should be investing in the good times to give themselves a buffer, but IR35 makes that very difficult," he said. "With the fast-track visa scheme, the onus is still on us to demonstrate that a skill is not in short supply."

A spokesman from the Home Office said the dossier presented by the PCG in May outlining alleged visa scheme abuses was being investigated.

"We take the allegations very seriously but the work is ongoing and it would be unfair of us to comment until it is concluded," he said.

The number of contractors who have closed their businesses and retired has also risen, from one per cent to five per cent.

Those choosing to work fewer hours and take more holiday or forced breaks has halved, from 23 per cent to nine per cent in 2002.

"There has been a drop in large scale projects, things like six- to 12-month implementations and database rewrites. Clients are saying 'I'd rather weather the storm with what I've got'," Crockett said.